Rescue
Rescuers battle lightning storm to save abandoned German Shepherd sisters
It's been three days and they still haven't found the two dogs. And now, there's a lightning storm. Will they ever find the two dogs?
Jaclyn Abergas
09.19.22

Staying inside while there’s a lightning storm outside is scary. Getting trapped outside is terrifying.

Now, imagine being a dog trapped outside in the lightning storm with nowhere to go and no shelter to be found. It is just horrifying.

And that’s exactly what happened to Thora and Levina, two abandoned German Shepherd sisters.

The rescue team Katelyn Mannion, Kim Reid, and Fiona McClintock from Pets Lost And Found Fermanagh received a tip a few days before about these abandoned two dogs wandering the vast roads of Fermanagh County.

They were able to locate them from a distance but could not get to them fast enough because the dogs were scared of human interaction.

“We were feeling a little deflated as we couldn’t get close to them, and we just wanted to bring them to safety,” Katelyn Mannion told The Dodo.

And then their worst nightmare happened.

A lightning storm blasted through the sky, which will make it harder for them to find the two dogs.

They searched for three days with no sign and they were already feeling helpless. Until finally, they got a tip from a local farmer that he spotted the dogs going into one of his outbuildings. The rescue team went to the spot as soon as they could and finally found them!

But their troubles weren’t over just yet.

Since the dogs were afraid of human interaction, they wouldn’t let any of the three women near them.

“After some gentle persuasion with food these two beautiful girls let us get close and we were able to secure them. They were both extremely hungry and one of them has sustained some injuries but nothing we don’t expect a full recovery from,” Pets Lost and Found Fermanagh wrote on their Facebook post.

Even though they don’t quite trust humans just yet, the two dogs are definitely grateful the rescue team didn’t give up looking for them. Who knows if they would ever be found?

And even the three women were grateful to finally find them and secure them, too.

“It was a very intense, overwhelming feeling of pure joy and excitement,” Katelyn added. “We were still very concerned for their well-being, but we were just so thrilled to have them in a secured area. There were definitely a few tears.”

They’re definitely going to shed a few more tears because Lost Paws NI offered to pay for their veterinary care. Plus Little China Dog Rescue has offered to give them a temporary home to get ready for adoption. Wow!

Kim, one of their rescuers, appropriately named them Thora and Levina.

Thora is the name of the Scandinavian goddess of thunder and Levina was Latin for lightning. Very symbolic names. And the two have been settling in their foster homes very well.

They’ve even let humans rub their bellies!

They’re still wary of humans but their foster parents are working with them separately to build their confidence and trust among humans again.

Thank you to these wonderful people who never gave up looking for the two dogs and for the wonderful organizations who helped give them a new and better life.

Check out a video about another of Little China Dog Rescue’s rescue pups below!

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